Band Not So Happy with Apple Ad [Updated]
Band Not So Happy with Apple Ad [Updated]
by , 11:25 AM EST, January 20th, 2006
The alternative rock band, The Postal Service, isn't pleased with Apple's new commercial that advertises Intel-based Macs. The ad features a shot-for-shot similarity to the band's video for Such Great Heights. Both were created by the same film makers, but apparently The Postal Service was not consulted about Apple's commercial.
From the band's Web site:
-
It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent.
-Ben Gibbard, The Postal Service
Elite Productions has taken the time to put together a side-by-side comparison of the video and commercial. Comparing the still images and video footage, the two certainly look similar, but it does not appear that they use the exact same footage.
[This article has been updated with information about Elite Productions comparison Web page.]Observer Comments
Video concepts are rarely created by the band. Unless it was their concept, Whiny-ass Ben Gibbard should drink a tall glass of "Shut Yer Pie-Hole" and be happy his crappy side project has gotten so much press over this. I was completely (blissfully even) unaware of this video before Apple's ad.
The video's great. The song sucks.
QuoteGuest wrote:
Video concepts are rarely created by the band. Unless it was their concept, Whiny-ass Ben Gibbard should drink a tall glass of "Shut Yer Pie-Hole" and be happy his crappy side project has gotten so much press over this. I was completely (blissfully even) unaware of this video before Apple's ad.
The video's great. The song sucks.
Song doesn't suck.
If this is the one they mean
http://www.apple.com/intel/ads/
it isn't shot for shot. It shows similar scenes but you can look at the Such Great Heights video from the link above and compare it to the ad. The shots do look similar and I I wouldn't be surprised if the film maker used some footage from the one for the other, but it really doesn't look to me like a shot for shot copy.
Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:04 pm Subject: Who owns the copyright on the music video
Yes it does.
QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
Video concepts are rarely created by the band. Unless it was their concept, Whiny-ass Ben Gibbard should drink a tall glass of "Shut Yer Pie-Hole" and be happy his crappy side project has gotten so much press over this. I was completely (blissfully even) unaware of this video before Apple's ad.
The video's great. The song sucks.
Song doesn't suck.
Their video is now on iTunes for $1.99. I guess they can be validly concerned that all these links on the net to a free copy of their video may hurt its sales on iTunes. But as most have pointed out, they're pretty much an unknown until this. They should be glad there's any publicity at all.
I doubt that this post will serve as the voice of reason in this volitle "song sucks/doesn't suck" company, but...
Yes, the band should be thrilled with the publicity, but they should also be upset that the creative that I assume they paid for was repurposed without their consent. I don't know who legally holds the rights to the video IP (which is always difficult to defend anyway), but that person should have been consulted with and paid (and may have been).
Either way, the band's gotta be bummed right now, and hopefully the undue exposure will lead to something more positive for them. I'd never heard of them until today, and I'm not into their music, but what's right is right.
Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:37 pm Subject: RE: The Postal Service WHO???
So, exactly what does Postal stand to lose here?
The publicity will likely increase demand for their video.
No one is going to buy an intel-based mac instead of their video because of this, so it can't be loss of income from consumer confusion.
Apple hasn't co-opted their actual song without permission.
So, no harm no foul, eh?
The Postal Service should have said "We're flattered that Apple used our video as the basis for their new ad" and kept the acrimony to themselves. They would have still gotten tons of attention, minus the flak, and they could have waited to bitch and moan until they had an idea whether or not they could go after the directors and/or Chiat/Day for some kind of copyright infringement.
QuoteThats funny cause it seems to be working perfectly. More publicity for both parties involved. They love it when a plan comes together. It worked when they did it with Eminem, so they might as well do it again.Guest wrote:
Apple is being poorly served by Chiat Day . . . . this makes Apple look like chumps. Obviously the team on the Apple account is happy with knocking off anything to avoid being inventive.
I have to say, I think it's a lousy thing for Apple to do, not to mention the director of the videos. WHY, exactly, did they choose to recreate it nearly shot for shot? Since it's the same director, this is clearly not a coincidence. So again I ask: why? Show some bloody creativity. Yeesh.
I'd be annoyed, too.
This is what I'm getting out of this thread.
1. Apple comes out with OS X.
2. Microsoft shows Longhorn/Vista with some features that look a lot like OS X.
Conclusion: Microsoft is a big fat copycat with no original ideas, and Apple Roolz!
and
1. Postal Service comes out with a video.
2. Apple comes out with a video with some scenes that look a lot like the Postal Service video.
Conclusion. Apple is not a big fat copycat, and the Postal Service are whiners!
Real conclusion: Don't be such hypocrites, you Mac fanboys.
(I have used Macs for longer than a lot of you have been alive, so I'm not a Windows troll.)
I bought their album on the strength of Such Great Heights (the music more than the video, I don't really like videos) They're my kinda band.
Just hope they don't end up known as 'the band Apple nicked that video from' as they're better than that.
You can look at it two ways, it's great exposure, or a reflection of a lack of creativity/laziness by advertisers.
Yes, you might think that ther is no such thing as bad publicity. But to an artist, the forum in which their work is displayed is extremely important to their credibilty. Remember when Jim Morrison found out that Ford was using Light My Fire to sell Mustangs? He went nuts!
The question is whether the video is the bands work or not. If it is, then they are entitled to control as best as possible how it is displayed.
The video is clearly not the band's. It's the director's.
The Postal Service doesn't need publicity. It's Ben Gibbard's side project. He's the leader of Death Cab for Cutie. He's the darling of the OC and is all over the place. Apple's not helping some unknown here. If Death Cab for Cutie wasn't already a huge band, I guarantee Gibbard would be very happy about this.
Darling of the OC? Is he? The TV programme OC? That Dawsons Creeky sort of thing? I don't watch it.
Is Death Cab for Cutie a huge band? Maybe not in the UK, I think you'd still get a lot of people who would just go 'who? huh, what? Death Cab?'
Oh, and I'd not call it Ben Gibbard's 'side project', as much as it would be Jimmy Tamborello's from Figurine.
QuoteGuest wrote:
The video is clearly not the band's. It's the director's.
The Postal Service doesn't need publicity. It's Ben Gibbard's side project. He's the leader of Death Cab for Cutie. He's the darling of the OC and is all over the place. Apple's not helping some unknown here. If Death Cab for Cutie wasn't already a huge band, I guarantee Gibbard would be very happy about this.
First the Lugz video, now this. I'm sure that if Apple knew the similarities in the videos, they would have changed the concept. But The Postal Service is a lesser known band and their work isn't seen as much as other bands. There is a lot of content out there and it nearly impossible for apple to have known this previously. The people who should be ashamed of themselves are the director and his crew. They lack originality and tact. And thats that!
Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:32 pm Subject: Not as similar as presented by Elle
I was disturbed by this until I saw the actual comparison on Elite's site.
The "eliteproductions" site edited the video to make it look more like the Apple ad then it originally was. They point out that they didn't rotate or distort the shots, but are less clear that they DID present the Postal Service shots out of order and timed the edits to match Apple's timing. Almost half of the Apple ad shots have no Postal Service equivalent.
If you have a video about chip manufacturers, their are certain shots that are just inevitable. Of course you are going to show the chip - of course the platters will be round, and people will be carefully handling them. Of course you are going to use slow motion - you don't want either looking like news footage or a silent movie. Most of the remaining exact match shots are closeups and two shots that are standard visual grammar.
Even if two production teams had never heard of each other, I'd say that videos this similar could easily happen by chance.
I counted the shots in the Elite comparison.
Matched shots: 8
Not Match: 7
Blank screen: 8
The matched shots include several "inevitables" as mentioned above (How many ways can you shoot a hallway, or one person handing a wafer to another?) and include the zoom out from the chip to the mac / satellite even though I've seen that same shot in several other ads.
Not match: The same machine shot from totally different angles. You can't invent a new way of making chips every time you want to
Blank screen: Elite did not find any similar looking shots in the Postal service ad. Also missing is how many Postal Service shots were cut because they looked nothing like Apple?
==================
This is not any kind of copying - it is simply the same subject (chip fab plant) with a similar emotional tone.
Quotealgr wrote:
If you have a video about chip manufacturers, their are certain shots that are just inevitable. Of course you are going to show the chip - of course the platters will be round, and people will be carefully handling them. Of course you are going to use slow motion - you don't want either looking like news footage or a silent movie. Most of the remaining exact match shots are closeups and two shots that are standard visual grammar.
I can hardly wait until commercial businesses start complaining about the fact that bands are ripping off their ads for their ideas. I'll bet that there are far fewer original ideas for videos than for creative advertising for businesses.
The Ad company that created the spot for Apple is most likely the culprit for imitation. It's probably a stretch to say anybody in the executive office at One Infinite Loop has ever heard of this band, not to mention Lugz.
Hell, I'm under 40 and I'd never heard of either one of these. That's neither here nor there. Even if they did, stretching to say the copied the shots one for one has been shown in this thread already to be an outright fabrication.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Chiat Day better be getting their defense ready. They've got some 'splaining to do, Lucy!
Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:28 pm Subject: Clearly, the shots were the creation of the Directors, not..
Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:22 pm Subject:
Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:49 am Subject: Why this makes sense
I've been a fan of The Postal Service for a while now. So when I first saw the new MacAd I immediately recognized it for what it was: a direct reference to the music video. This was done on purpose.
Advertisers (like myself) purposefully seek out not-so-well-known trendy bits like The Postal Service's music video in question, (Yes, that counts as trendy.) and attempt to attach their client's brand to it. Apple marketing decided long ago that they wanted an ad that looked just like this music video, that's why they hired its director (not the other way around.) Similar to their affair with Bono, it's all about building a fan-base (read: market) and pushing product. In fact, it's more likely that Apple decided to go with Intel last summer for the sole purpose of making this commercial than for any other reason.
Whether or not the idea was legally stolen, it was used with intent to reference.
Even though Gibbard is saying what he is, what he truly means to do is bring it to everyone's attention that Apple is referencing his work. This stirs up controversy/discusion and makes both the ad and his video more effective in the long run.
Apple users should be greatly pleased that Apple marketing is just so cunning. Without it, nobody would be switching or even paying attention the way they are now and MS would continue stealing the glory.
So the next time anybody goes attacking a MacAd, realize that's exactly what they want you to be doing.
Peace.
Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:50 pm Subject: Video Now Prominently Featured on iTunes Store
Well, whether or not there was a deal made with the band, they have to be pleased with the attention. I may live under a rock, but I'd never heard of them before and now they are on the front page of the iTunes music store.
It seems like a great gesture to help salve any hard feelings. The band makes out with a reward that record companies would practically kill for, and Apple clears any suspicion that there is some "conspiricy" or "coincidence".
QuoteWell that's funny cause this is the first time I have ever heard of them.Guest wrote:
The Postal Service doesn't need publicity.
People how many times are you going to keep falling for this? Are you not seeing the pattern here? Eminem. Lugz. The Postal something or others. This is a form of creative marketing. Creative marketing is all the rage with the ad agencies! DER!
I'd never heard of Postal Service.
I saw the ad, though it was sorta uninpired for an Apple Ad. Now I read the "controversy".
Chiat Day made a so-so ad as viewed from Joe Blow's perspective, one who didn't catch the video reference. One who thinks "Intel=big-good-fast, Mac=innovative, good, reliable, secure. Combine the two= I will buy one
They (Chiat Day) got more bang for the buck because some did catch the reference and associated it (Intel Macs) with "hip", they appealed to that "avante garde" group of techie savvy hipsters who would know the band and the Mac.
Whether Chiat Day expected the "controversy" to occure and thus get more attention I don't know, probably they did although I have yet to see FoxNews do a story on it.
I'd say Chiat Day did a good job again overall.
Recycling an earlier idea either shows laziness on Josh & Xander's part or that Apple wanted them to recreate the music video (for whatever reason).
The fact that the band can only complain about it on their website shows that they haven't had their ideas stolen; one assumes the video's concept came from the directors.
However, while they may not have a legitimate complaint on legal grounds, I can certainly see that they may have reasons to complain on moral grounds; for whatever reason, the video links Apple with The Postal Service (or vice-versa, if you prefer). Maybe TPS don't want to be thought of as "the band who copied the Apple ad", "the band who made the Apple ad", "the band who sold out to Apple", or whatever.
QuoteSpencer James wrote:
... In fact, it's more likely that Apple decided to go with Intel last summer for the sole purpose of making this commercial than for any other reason.
THAT IS JUST IDIOTIC
Whether or not the idea was legally stolen, it was used with intent to reference.
THERE MIGHT NOT EVER BE A PRHASE IN LAW CALLED "LEGALLY STOLEN".
Even though Gibbard is saying what he is, what he truly means to do is bring it to everyone's attention that Apple is referencing his work. This stirs up controversy/discusion and makes both the ad and his video more effective in the long run.
Apple users should be greatly pleased that Apple marketing is just so cunning. Without it, nobody would be switching or even paying attention the way they are now and MS would continue stealing the glory.
WITH THE MINOR ECEPTION THAT MS DOES NOT MAKE COMPUTERS. AND THEY DONT NEED INTEL CHIPS FOR THEIR OS OR SOFTWARE TO RUN ON.
So the next time anybody goes attacking a MacAd, realize that's exactly what they want you to be doing.
BRAVO - ALL THAT NEEDED TO BE POSTED. "JUST WHEN WE'VE GOT THEM RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT US."
Peace.
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